


Treble Clef

by Amarislona



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 8-tracks, Case Fic, Classic Rock, GIEPP, Gen, Girl In Every Port Project, Inspired by Music, Prompt Fic, Tapes, Vinyls, casefic, record store
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-26
Updated: 2015-06-26
Packaged: 2018-04-06 05:31:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4209780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amarislona/pseuds/Amarislona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Winchesters are on the road again when Sam comes across the story of a man gone deaf. Upon taking the case, they stumble across a mystery of cursed objects and angry spirits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the Girl in Every Port Project (GIEPP), organized by winchestersinthedrift@tumblr.
> 
> My prompt was "Music Store that Sells Dean Vinyl (or Tapes!)"
> 
> This is the first time I've been fully motivated to finish something as big as this, so I'm really glad I was introduced to it.
> 
> Special thanks to my friends who threw me suggestions as I put this thing together! (You know who you are~)
> 
> Thanks for reading!

A sleek-black 1967 Chevy Impala raced down the empty country roads of an unknown location; _Seven Bridges Road_ by The Eagles played quietly on the radio. The car’s passengers consisted of two brothers—Sam and Dean Winchester. They weren’t heading anywhere in particular, just taking in the breeze through open windows until they reached the next town. “Hey, check this out.” said Sam, glancing through local news ads for the area on his smartphone. “ _Local Man Suddenly Becomes Deaf_. Says here he’s in his thirties and in otherwise perfect health.”

“Yeah, so. What’s so weird about that? People can go deaf randomly.” said the older man behind the wheel, his attention firmly on the road ahead. “Strange medical reasons and stuff.”

Sam sighed, now looking at his brother. “Well, it also says he bought an 8-track tape and swears up and down, when he played it, he heard the _anguished screams of Hell itself_.” He emphasized the final words in the hopes that his brother would get that this was definitely their kind of thing.

“So…he either picked up a _KISS_ album, or it could be a cursed object, maybe?” said Dean, his eyes never leaving the country road.

“A cursed 8-track that makes its listeners deaf…” The younger brother now let out a more audible sigh. “I say we check it out, at least. It’s on our way through.”

“Yeah yeah...” Dean shrugged his shoulders slightly. He really hated dealing with cursed objects; they gave him the heebie-jeebies. The potential to accidentally touch one himself and become cursed—the fact that cursed objects tend to drag their holders down to an early grave in violent and often wildly strange ways. He didn’t want any part of that, but if someone really had come across one, he did feel he needed to help get rid of it so no one else could become affected.

Upon arrival in the next town, the boys located a small motel and laid their belongings out. From the trunk, they removed their FBI disguises and fake badges. After taking a shower, grooming up, and putting on the suits, they were ready to go investigate their newest case.

Dean approached the door of the home belonging to the man from the local news—Chad Hubbard. He gave a look back to his younger brother as if to say _I got this_. Sam returned his gaze, a look of wary in his green eyes.

_Knock knock_

Not a sound was heard. The two stood there, looking back and forth between each other for a moment before turning their attention back toward the door. “Wait a second..!” Sam proclaimed, though somewhat hushed. “Does he even live with anyone else? If he’s deaf and lives alone, _of course_ he won’t hear us knocking on the door…”

Dean hadn’t even thought of this. For a moment, he forgot the guy was even deaf. “Well, then we bust in there, bring out our badges, and ask him our questions.” he said directly, matching the hushed tone. Before the younger brother could argue, he had reached into his pocket and grabbed his lock-pick.

While Dean worked on the door, Sam glanced around to make sure no one was watching. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” he said, hesitation in his voice.

“Pretty sure.” Dean stated, rising to face his brother with a smug look and putting the lock-pick away. “It’ll be fine. Trust me!”

They opened the door knob carefully as to not cause a commotion. Slowly, they entered the house and split up in search of their target. The place was eerily quiet, not a soul in sight. Family photos hung in the hallways, a few lamps lit on tables, and the kitchen was clean but clearly used recently.

Rounding a corner, Dean slowly approached the den. A TV was on, sound off and closed captions taking up at least half the screen. In a rocking chair across from it sat a thirty-something year old man, staring blankly at the image on the screen. “Hey, Chad?” Dean hadn’t thought it through. How do you handle communicating with someone who’s deaf without startling them?

Sam had finally found his way to the den too. He stared at Dean, giving him a questioning glance as if to say _what are you doing_. With a sigh, he reached in his pocket and picked up his badge. Slowly, he approached the man in the chair, presenting his badge with a smile so as not to startle him. The other man, though shaken at first, took a quick, hard look at the badge and nodded.

Sam grabbed a stationary and used it to communicate with the man. With this, they’d have hard-copy notes of all the statements. He took a seat before the victim and began communicating with him in what seemed like intense silence.

Dean just stood back, not exactly sure what to do. Then it hit him—what about the 8-track? Where had that gone? He stepped out of the room and began investigating the house. Where would he most likely have left it sitting? Rounding the corner of a hallway, he made his way into a bedroom. There, on one of the dressers, sat a black box. Inside was a single, lonely 8-track tape. He shut the box and fastened the lock before carrying it away.

“Hey… Sam!” the older brother called, signaling his brother. “Ask him if this is the tape.” Sam took the box and presented it to the man, writing the question on paper. Chad simply nodded.

With a nod and a smile, Sam waved to the man as he started to walk away. “Come on, Dean.” With that, they exited the front door together.

“So—Mister Silent Cop—did you find anything interesting?” Dean half-joked, cracking a small smile. As they walked down the steps, Sam handed the conversation notes to his older brother.

“Well, he said he bought the 8-track from a local record shop.” Sam stated directly. Dean leafed through the sheets of finely handwritten material. “Kander Music.”

“Well then, let’s go take a look. Hey, maybe if they sell 8-tracks, they’ll have some good vinyls!” Despite the case at hand, he was beginning to feel a little excited. Music was a huge part of him, and he loved the classics. If they were going to an old-school music shop, there’s a chance he could find some really cool things to layer his room back at the bunker.

 

***

 

Dean pulled the Impala in a lonely parking spot in front of the store. “This is it?” he said, surprised at how small the building was. The lot was old and worn down. Weeds grew between cracks in the asphalt, and only one other car was parked there. His expectations for the place had dropped 

“Uh, yeah.” Sam spoke, raising his eyebrows, confused at his older brother’s response. The two exited the vehicle and went inside the building.

Despite the small, lackluster exterior, the inside of the shop appeared massive, though cluttered. _American Pie_ by Don McLean played quietly through speakers situated at the four corners of the space. The walls were lined with everything from 8-tracks to CDs. Vinyls, records, tapes—you name it, they had it. There were boxes upon boxes of vinyl stacked in the center of the room, and a few hung from the ceiling as decoration.

The moment Dean stepped through the doors, his disappointed expression changed and his eyes lit up. Suddenly he was like a five year old in a candy store. Having forgotten the whole reason they were there, he started shuffling through the vinyls in the center, his eyes carefully scanning each one.

Sam simply sighed and shook his head. It was rare he got to see his brother this happy, and he figured he could handle a little questioning alone. As he approached the front counter, he noticed no one was present. The front door had been unlocked, and the store sign said it was open, so where were the employees? “Hey, is anyone here?” he yelled to the back.

A woman in her late twenties peeked out from the corner of the stock-room door. Her hair was wavy, medium brown, slightly longer than shoulder length, with a single braid tucked behind her right ear. She wore short black boots, blue jeans and a plain black T-shirt with blue and grey flannel tied around her waist. Around her neck dangled a single silver treble-clef necklace.

“Oh…” she mumbled as she approached the front counter. “D-Did you need something?” Her voice was hushed, her gaze locked down at her hands atop the sales counter.

“Uh, yeah.” Sam spoke, slightly thrown off by her demeanor. “Just wanted to ask a few questions.” He presented his FBI badge to her. “We’re agents Smith and Smith—no relation. Just looking for information related to a case. What’s your name?”

“Larissa Alkander… You can just call me Risa…” she said quietly, hesitation in her voice.

“Nice to meet you Risa. So, have you seen this man before?” Sam loaded the news article on his phone and pulled up a full-screen image. “His name is Chad Hubbard.”

“Y-Yeah… He was here the other day… Bought a tape. Why?”

“Well, the tape he bought is tied to a case we’re looking into. It was found in a small black box with a latch on the front. Do you have anything else like that?”

The girl never once looked up. Instead, she walked around the counter and pointed to a single, plain black box sitting on a shelf nearby. It looked similar to the box they had retrieved earlier. “T-this was...from my dad’s personal collection…”

Sam approached slowly and carefully opened it. Glancing inside, he found nothing. “Was there anything in here before?”

“A tape. A man bought it. He didn’t want the box.” Risa spoke simply, her tone hushed. With that, Sam gulped. This was likely another cursed object, in the hands of another person. They were now in danger.

“How long ago? Do you have a name or address?”

“This morning. His name was on his credit card info.”

“Great, great! I can use that.” Sam got the information from her. He looked it up in his phone and found the full address of the man in question. “Glen Hamel, huh.” He presented her with a business card and a thankful nod.

Dean walked up behind them, holding several vinyls in his hands. “Hey, hey, look! They have Lynyrd Skynyrd and Led Zeppelin! I’m definitely taking these!!” With giddy excitement, he tossed the records onto the sales counter to purchase. “Too bad I didn’t see anything by Kansas. I’d definitely get that too.”

“Zeppelin’s _Stairway to Heaven_ is one of my favorite songs.” Risa finally spoke up, her bright blue eyes twinkling. “I listen to it at least once per day.”

“Yeah! Up-high!” Dean reached his hand out to give her a high-five, a big goofy grin on his face. The younger girl backed away slowly. “Aw come on! Don’t be shy!” There was a moment of silence between them as the older man’s face slowly faded into slight disappointment. He was still pleased, however, and skipped happily out the door with his new purchases, his younger brother following not too far behind.

Sam spoke to Risa one last time. “Just keep in mind, if you see anything strange—no matter how strange—you let us know, ok?” As he turned to leave, he accidentally bumped into an older woman. She appeared to be in her late fifties, short brown hair, and dark blue eyes. “Hey, watch where you’re going!” she huffed then mumbled under her breath. “Rude as hell customers…”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Sam apologized, his expression genuine. “I didn’t mean to—“ Looking down, he caught that she was also wearing an employee nametag. It read: _Leanne—Manager_.

“Just get out of here!”

If anyone was rude here, it was her. But Sam didn’t have time to get into that, so he simply nodded and walked outside. “Hey, what took you so long? Pick out something for yourself? Maybe a _certain sales clerk_?” his older brother joked mischievously as he finally started the engine up.

“Ha, ha, very funny, Dean.” he replied dryly as he shut the door. “Sounds more like you than me.”

Dean shrugged—he couldn’t disagree with that.

 

***

 

The brothers made their way quickly down the road. They had no idea what this cursed object was capable of. The first guy got off without his hearing, but the next might not be so lucky.

Having reached their destination, they got out of the vehicle in a rush, still wearing their FBI threads. Both of them grabbed their guns and made their way toward the entrance.

Sam picked the lock on the front door as his older brother stood watch nearby. With a click, the door opened slowly, creaking slightly as it moved aside.

The two entered as quietly as possible. Just as they reached the living room, the smell of blood hit them. Something bad had happened—but what? They nodded to each other and split up from there. Sam continued on the ground floor while Dean went upstairs.

The younger of the two put his back to each wall he encountered, gun in hand, peeking out to make sure the coast was clear before moving on. He followed a trail of blood to its source—a woman in her forties or fifties.

Sam put his wrist up to his nose to block out the overpowering scent of her freshly rotting corpse. Upon closer inspection, he noted she had been stabbed in the chest and neck with a kitchen knife. From the appearance of it, someone else had caused the fatal wounds.

Assuming the killer might still be in the house, Sam was even more cautious. He needed to find Dean, fast, to tell him what he had found. He made his way toward the stairs, in a rush, but still tiptoeing.

Dean had his back against a wall, looking between the open bedroom doors. He eventually came across a door that was shut. The faint sound of a guitar played from the other side. _This is clearly a trap_. Even with this thought, it wasn’t like he was going to be able to monkey his way across the windows, so his best option was to go in, guns blazing.

Quickly, Dean turned the knob and shoved the door open, his gun in hand, aimed forward. Before him stood a man, his hands covered in dried blood. He held a teenage boy hostage, one hand over his mouth to prevent him from screaming out for help, and a knife up to his throat. “Hey, let the kid go!”

The man was trembling, his eyes wild with anger. “It’s all their fault!” he shouted. “They did this to me!!”

“Look man, we can talk this out, ok!” Dean held his hands up, hanging the gun by his thumb. “Just calm down…and let the kid go.”

The man seemed to relax a little. He uncovered the teen’s mouth, prepared to let him go. But just as quickly, he reached up and slit the boy’s neck before dropping him to the ground.

Dean watched, horrified, as the child fell to his knees, choking on his own blood. His face hardened and he pointed the gun angrily at the man, prepared to fire. “You son of a bitch!”

This clearly angered the deranged man. He lunged at Dean, slamming him against the wall. The younger man dropped his gun upon impact.

Sam heard the commotion and hurried to the source. As he rounded the corner, he saw what had unfolded, and witnessed Dean desperately trying to hold the man’s arm back with both hands, trying to prevent him from stabbing a knife into his heart. “Sam, get the tape!! Burn it!!”

The younger brother scrambled around the room, looking for the tape player that was quietly looping an acoustic version of what was now recognizable as _Paint it Black_ by Metallica. Finally, he noticed a small radio on the windowsill. He grabbed the tape from the machine and lit it on fire in a metal trashcan nearby.

“No!!” the man yelled out, letting go of Dean. “LEEEEEEEEEE—” The faint outline of another man faded out of him, slamming through the wall to parts unknown. Sam rushed over to Dean’s side.

“You saw that, right?” Sam asked.

“I did…” Dean spoke, catching his breath. “That wasn’t a cursed object. That was a ghost.”

 

***

 

“W-What happened?” the shaken man finally spoke up. “Who are you people!?”

“We’re FBI agents investigating a case.” Sam spoke professionally. “Would you happen to be Glen Hamel?”

The other man’s eyes stared straight at Sam. “Yes…that’s me…” He was on the verge of a full breakdown.

“Glen, do you remember anything at all about what happened?”

“I remember…talking to my wife in the kitchen… I…don’t remember…much else.”

“Well…thank you.”

“Oh god, why me!? What did I do to deserve this!?” Glen shrieked. He started sobbing loudly and lowered his head, tears pouring to the floor beneath him.

Dean finally got to his feet, picked up his gun, and put it away. “Hey man, we’re sorry. We really are.” He wasn’t sure what else he could really say. The man lost his wife and son in the same night to his own hands, even though he didn’t actively control them. It was going to be tough to cope with regardless of what was said.

“Help for you is on its way.” Sam reassured the distressed man. Glen calmed down a little and wiped away his tears with cloth around his wrist.

“I understand… You were just trying to help, so thanks.”

The two brothers nodded to him, then to each other, signaling it was time to go. They needed to get out of there before the real cops showed up so they wouldn’t risk being locked down to questioning.

“Hey wait!” Glen spoke up. “I remember something else. That tape you burned, it played words. It said something like… _You made me this way,_ and I thought I heard a name. Something like _Travis Wilhelm_...”

“Alright, thanks. We’ll keep it in mind.” Sam spoke directly.

As they reached the Impala outside, they could hear the sirens blaring in the distance. They both hurriedly jumped in, Dean revved the engine, and they were gone into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

The two brothers picked up snacks and drinks, and then finally returned to their motel room at approximately eight o’clock. They both stripped themselves of their FBI clothing. Sam changed into pajamas, but Dean put on some of his normal clothes. “Hey, where are you going?”

“Oh, nowhere special.” said Dean, cracking a small, mischievous smile.

Sam recognized the look on his face. He was up to something and it was pretty obvious what. “Dude, you are _not_ going to hit on the music store clerk…”

“Why not!?” Dean snapped back with a pout.

“Because… She isn’t even your type!”

“So what. I like to try new things…”

Sam stared at his older brother in disbelief. For a moment he was lost for words.

“Ok, Sammy, look. Truth is, I have a feeling about that place. I thought _maybe_ I could go check it out while you—you know—sit here and do your computer things.”

“So you’re really _not_ planning on hooking up with Risa?”

Dean opened the door and put one foot outside. “Hey, whatever happens—happens.” he said with a shrug and a smile then shut the door behind him.

Sam sighed and shook his head. His brother was always like this—he should be used to it by now. He grabbed some food, a bottle of tea, and sat at a small window-side table with his laptop. _Ok, Travis Wilhelm, huh?_ he thought. With the click of a few keys, he found some information on a man by that name in the area. _An obituary? So it is a ghost…_

He did some more digging through what people said and what was listed online, and found this man had been married then divorced. He was survived by his ex-wife and daughter. On top of that, he used to work for Kander Music. The name of the daughter caught his attention. _Larissa. So she may be directly connected…_ The name of the ex-wife also now made sense. _Leanne Alkander-Wilhelm. So his daughter is taking her mother’s maiden name._

He recalled the woman he ran into at the front door with the management nametag. _So that was her mom…_ That was sad to hear. _So what happened to make him into a vengeful spirit?_ Through more reading, he discovered the man had committed suicide, though the reason behind it was inconclusive. _I should let Dean know…_ he thought, and with that, picked up his phone and texted the information.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, Dean had parked the Impala in front of Kander Music. The hour sign on the door told him they close at nine. _So she might still be here…_ he thought, opening the door and walking inside.

The store was eerily quiet. _Rocket Man_ by Elton John played on the radio, barely audible. He resisted the urge to yell out for someone; instead, he approached the counter and listened carefully. From the stock room, he could hear faint voices chatting. He walked over to the corner of the stock room door and listened to what was being said.

“No, don’t ask again!” spoke a middle-aged woman.

“But mom—” came from the voice of a quieter, younger woman.

“Don’t _but mom_ me! You are _not_ going to college! That is final!”

“But I want to—“

“Don’t start that! You will inherit this business! You don’t _need_ college!”

“I…”

“Is this about a boy!? Did you get a boyfriend or something!? Did he poison you with his words!? You know you’re not allowed to have a boyfriend!!”

“No—!”

“Your father would be _so_ disappointed in you. This store was his life. You want to throw away his memory!?”

“No, I—“

“Ok, that’s enough of the crap!” Dean bust into the room, tired of hearing the bickering. He stepped in front of the source of the younger voice—Risa. “She has a right to make her own decisions in life.”

“And you are!?” the woman named Leanne asked harshly, her stern expression now twisted with anger.

“I’m—” Dean thought about this for a second. He looked back to see Risa staring at him hesitantly. “—her boyfriend!”

The other woman gawked. “You can’t be serious! This girl has never had a boyfriend in her life! I forbid it!”

“Yeah, well, she makes her own decisions now!” With that, he grabbed the younger girl’s hand and yanked her toward the door. “Let’s get you out of here. My brother and I are staying in a motel nearby. Let's get you a room away from here for the night.”

“Don’t you dare! You aren’t allowed to!!” Leanne yelled at the younger woman.

Dean shoved the girl out the door, giving her no chance to reply. He simply looked back and gave the woman behind him a nasty expression of disgust before pulling the girl out the front door.

 

***

 

Dean quickly checked his phone before starting the car up. He didn’t immediately read Sam’s texts; instead, he shoved the phone back into his pocket and focused on driving.

The two sat in silence. The soft rattle of the Impala’s engine was the only sound heard for several minutes. Risa sat in the passenger seat, her eyes on the trees and stars as they all passed by.

“T-thank you…” she finally spoke up.

“No problem.” Dean spoke back simply. “You’re how old? In your twenties now, right?”

“Yeah, twenty eight…”

“See, you’re an adult! You’re old enough to live your life however you want.”

“B-but I can’t.”

“Says who? Your mom? Don’t listen to her—believe me. You have to move on with your life sometime.”

“You’re right… You know, my dad believed in me. He said I could be anything I wanted to be. He passed away though.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

”I just… I don’t know what to do…”

“Well, is there something you like to do? A hobby or something? You could go to school for it. You wanted to go to college, right?”

Risa finally looked at Dean, her blue eyes lit up and her voice became a little louder as she spoke. “I love music. I would give anything to be able to sing and play guitar for a living.” She hung her head for a moment; sad thoughts filled her mind again. “But mom said I would never be good at it. She said there are millions like me so I have no chance at it. Besides that, my guitar is missing so I can’t play anymore. Mom probably sold it...”

Dean sighed. He flipped on the radio. _Stairway to Heaven_ was on the verge of playing. “Prove her wrong. You know what—you know this song, right? Sing it.”

“What, but—” she withdrew again, nervously reaching her hand up to re-tuck her braid behind her right ear. “I—can’t.”

“Sure you can!” he grinned, turning it up a bit.

As the lyrics neared, Risa took a deep breath. Though nervous, she went ahead and sang along. “ _There’s a lady who’s sure…all that glitters is gold. And she’s buying a stairway to heaven._ ” As the song continued, Dean listened intently. Her singing was amazing; even nervous, she had great control over her pitches, her range was good, and she made perfect use of vibrato.

“ _In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings. Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven._ ” Lyrics like these made him realize why this song was so special to her. The lyrics were a big symbol of her vision of life. “ _There’s a feeling I get, when I look to the west, and my spirit is crying for leaving._ ”

The more she progressed through the song, the more confident she sounded. It felt more like she was singing freely all alone in her room than in a car with a stranger. “ _Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on._ ”

Eventually the guitar solos gave way to the final bridge of the song, and she tore through it, singing it more melodically than intended, but still well. She put a lot of effort into the final verse, clearly singing it with her heart. “ _And she’s buying a stairway…to heaven…_ ”

Dean turned down the radio and smiled. “You know you have a gift, right?”

“I—“ the girl spoke, blushing at the compliment.

The Impala pulled into a parking spot out front of the motel. “Stay put for a minute.” Dean got out, went to the front office, and got a key for the room next door for her. “You’ll be safe there.” he finally said, pointing her in the direction.

“Thank you…” Risa said, then exited the vehicle and took the keys from Dean.

“We’ll talk in the morning. You just go and get some rest. Don’t be afraid to knock if you feel unsafe—we’ll be here to protect you.”

The girl simply nodded, a weak smile on her face. She then approached the door to her motel room, turned the knob, and entered.

 

***

 

“You did _what_!?” Sam snapped at Dean in disbelief. He had been watching TV while sitting on his bed, but turned it off when his older brother sat down across from him and explained about Risa.

“Shh, quiet down!” Dean motioned his finger over his mouth, hushing his brother. “She might hear you.”

“Ok then, _excuse me_ if I’m not so adamant about you kidnapping a girl from her mom!”

“It’s not like that! Her mom was being a manipulative bitch…and I just sorta snapped…”

Sam recalled his one short meeting with the woman. He could see Dean’s description of the woman probably wasn’t that far off. “Well, what do we do now? We have a potential vengeful spirit roaming around, his daughter in the next room, and no leads.”

“Just find out where his body was buried. We’ll light that sucker on fire, and be done with it.”

“That’s great, Dean, _really_ … There’s just one problem with that idea—he was _cremated_ …” Sam said sarcastically. If the man had been cremated, there had to be another source keeping him behind the veil—something he was really attached to or that meant a lot to him.

“Damn…” Dean slammed his fist into his bed. “You think it’s the store?”

“You mean the _whole store_? I doubt that. It could be an item sitting around, something dear to him somehow.”

“Maybe Risa will have some idea. We can ask her tomorrow.” Dean shrugged. He got up and started changing out of his day clothes and into his pajamas.

“Right…” Sam said while climbing under the covers of his bed and turning his light off. He was skeptical about Dean’s actions, but there was one thing that was true—Risa may be the key to getting through this hunt.

Dean finished preparing for bed. He made sure everything else was turned off, the doors were locked, and that their tools and weapons were hidden from sight. Finally, he got into his bed, tossed the covers over his head, and closed his eyes. “Night, Sammy.”


	3. Chapter 3

The alarm clock the brothers had centered between them clicked at around seven o’clock, blasting out midway through _Heat of the Moment_ by Asia. Sam shot awake. Instinctively, he reached up and slammed his fist down on the machine to hit the snooze button. He’d never gotten over that song, and probably never will.

As he looked over his shoulder, he noticed his brother was missing. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes then grabbed his phone to call him. After a few rings, it reached his voicemail. “ _This is Dean’s phone. If you’re calling in need of help, leave your name, number, and reason. If you’re Sammy—BEEP_ ” The younger brother’s face twisted into confusion as the message cut off abruptly. This voicemail was clearly newer because he’d never heard it before now.

Thinking Dean might have left to talk to Risa, Sam got dressed and headed out the door. He noticed the Impala was missing, so his brother must have went somewhere else. As he approached the other motel door, he knocked three times.

Risa peeked out the window, attempting to hide her face in case it was her mom or a stranger. That wasn’t the case; she recognized Sam from the previous day with Dean, so she opened the door for him.

“Hey, good morning. Have you seen my brother around?” Sam said, thinking Dean would have filled her in that they were brothers, not unrelated FBI partners like he’d told her at the store.

“Uh…” she spoke quietly, her eyes wandering around her surroundings nervously. “I thought you two were partners… You’re brothers?”

“ _Ha_ …yeah. I’ll explain everything.” he said with a nervous laugh. “We’re actually brothers, and honestly, we’re not FBI agents.”

The girl looked a little surprised but mostly unfazed. Not that she wasn’t wondering what they were actually up to, but, because of Dean’s kindness, she felt she could trust them anyway. “So what are you?” she said simply.

“Do you believe in ghosts?”

“Yes.”

“We’re ghost hunters.”

Risa finally made eye-contact with Sam, her expression now more curious than ever. “Really?”

“Haha, yeah.”

As the two stood there chatting, the familiar sound of a certain vehicle came from behind Sam. Its speakers were blasting out _Wanted Dead or Alive_ through rolled down windows. “Hey guys, morning!” Dean shouted out from the driver’s seat.

Sam turned around, sighed, and shook his head. His older brother sure seemed like he was in a good mood this morning. “And where have you been, Dean?”

“I got us all some breakfast!” he said happily, reaching his hand out the window to show a paper bag full of food. He exited the vehicle, carrying some bags and a coaster with three drinks in it.

 

***

 

“This is great! We need to come through here more often!” Dean said, sitting at the small table in Risa’s motel room, stuffing in an omelet.

Sam sipped from his coffee, his attention on the girl. “I guess it’s time for a re-introduction. My name is Sam Winchester. This is my brother, Dean.” The older brother simply waved and continued cramming food into his face.

Risa nibbled on her food, her attention mostly on the plate in front of her. She was never good at holding eye-contact in a conversation. This didn’t seem to bother the brothers—they had met people from all walks of life; some super outgoing, others also shy like her.

“So, we started out thinking someone was buying haunted tapes from your store. Now we think your store may be haunted. Have you felt any cold spots? Seen or heard anything strange?” said Sam.

Risa placed her fork on the table and looked up to him, her eyes never really meeting his. “I… At night, when it's quiet and no one’s around, I’ve heard whispering. I didn’t think anything of it...at first.”

“What happened?”

“One night, I was in my bed and I saw a figure. He knocked a picture frame over then vanished. I thought I was dreaming, but when I woke up, the frame was on the floor.”

“Do you know who the figure was?”

“I think he was my dad.”

“What happened to your dad?”

The girl looked down to the plate before her; most of her food remained uneaten. “Well, he and mom had a fight over the store. They divorced, but still held joint ownership—at least for a while... She managed to take over ownership and pushed him out. The store was everything he worked for in life. He couldn’t take it anymore, and hung himself in the stockroom the next day.”

 _So the information online holds out_. Sam thought. “Is he still present? Have you seen him lately?”

“Every other night.”

Dean finally finished his omelet and gulped down some coffee. “So, why did your mom kick him out?”

“She thought he was cheating. He wasn’t.”

“Great. So we have a vengeful spirit whose wife thought he was hooking up behind her back. We can’t figure out what holds him around, and he seems to hop from audio tapes.”

“Wait a minute.” Sam cut his brother off. “What about the first guy? He only became deaf. Was that really the spirit’s doing?”

“I don’t know. Could be.” the older man shrugged. “You know, there wasn’t a woman involved in that case.”

“So maybe he only specifically targets women. He got caught up with the first guy. When he played the tape, it only shattered his hearing?”

“No, that doesn’t make sense either. He used Glen to kill his son, too.”

“Then maybe all this moving around is tough on him and he’s deteriorating?”

“Would make sense. In his delirious mind, he might think they’re destroying him.”

Sam sighed. “If that’s the case, we need to figure out what’s binding him to this place and destroy it—fast.”

Risa finally looked up to them. “I think I might know something. I think…maybe it’s the photo I mentioned earlier. It’s what he moves around the most.”

Dean stood up from the table, ready to go. “Ok so, we get Risa in there, she gets us the photo, we burn it, and this is all over!” Sam wasn’t so sure it would be that easy—it sounded way too simple.

 

***

 

The three piled into the Impala, Dean in the driver’s seat. “Ok, so where’s home?” he asked.

“The store.” Risa replied.

“Wait, you _live_ in the music store?” Sam asked, surprised.

“Yeah. The upstairs. We couldn’t afford a home.”

“Man that must be rough.” Dean stated as he started the engine.

They raced down the roads until they finally arrived at the store. A few cars sat out front, likely belonging to customers. Dean pulled the Impala around behind the building and parked near the back door. “Ok, so you go in there with Sam, get the frame, and burn it. I’ll be out here on lookout.” Dean said as he stalled the car’s engine. He was essentially acting as a getaway driver.

Sam nodded and followed Risa inside. She went in first to make sure her mom wasn’t present in the stockroom. Luckily, the woman was out front assisting customers, so they were able to quietly reach the stairs to the upper floor. The faint sound of _Tom Sawyer_ by RUSH played from the sales floor as they snuck by.

From there, they passed through the living room and down a hallway until they found the girl’s room. Sam stood outside the door as Risa went in to find the frame. It wasn’t where she expected it to be, so she had to look for it. After a few minutes, she found it and motioned for Sam. He took it from her hands, and, the moment he touched it, the glass shattered. The room temperature lowered, and the door slammed behind him.

Cold hands quickly wrapped around Sam’s neck from behind, forcing him to drop the frame as he struggled. The girl fell back in horror, tripping over her bed. “Risa…” he struggled to speak. “You have to…burn it… Hurry!”

Risa finally got back to her senses. But what could she do? She quickly grabbed up the frame and looked around her room. There was a candle-lighter on the nightstand she had used before, so she grabbed that, ran into the bathroom, and lit the frame on fire in the bathroom sink.

“Nooooo!!” yelled the deep, twisted voice of what was still recognizable as her father.

She ran back into her room just in time to see the misshapen form her of dad explode through the wall. Sam fell to his knees, grasping his neck and trying to catch his breath. He had gone with her to protect her—he didn’t think he would be saved by her.

 

***

 

The two filled Dean in on what happened. “Well that should take care of it. She should be fine now.” the older brother stated happily.

“I guess this is where we part ways.” Sam said with a nod. He got into the passenger seat and waved to Risa.

She smiled back in response. “Thanks.”

The two drove down the road in silence, proud for being able to help another person, yet Dean still had a nagging feeling like something wasn’t right. They headed back to the motel for the time being. With what Sam went through, he decided they could rest in the town one more day. At least he could get some more of that amazing breakfast food he had that morning.

Sam laid on his bed, his arms outstretched across both sides. Dean left to inform the motel they were staying another day, then took off on his own. He stopped by a local Gas-n-Sip to pick up some snacks and drinks, filled his ride up, and brought everything back to the motel.

Some hours later, the two found themselves doing their own things. Sam sat at the side table, reading information on his laptop. Dean laid in his bed, watching TV mindlessly. The station was on some stage comedy thing. Despite it being funny, he stared at it blankly. His mind was lost on other things.

_Buzz buzz_

Dean groggily sat up and looked to the nightstand by him. His phone displayed an unfamiliar phone number attempting to reach him. He picked it up and answered.

_…………...el…….p………..D…..ea…….n……………_

It wasn’t immediately easy to make out what was said, but Dean recognized the sound of the voice. Sam head it too and looked to his brother. “It’s Risa, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, sounds like she might be in trouble.” Dean stated as he jumped to his feet and got his things together.

“So you think the frame wasn’t the solution? Maybe something else?” Sam said as he shut his laptop and threw on his jacket.

Dean opened the door, ready to leave. “I don’t know. Even Risa thought that was it. If it’s not...who knows what it is…”

 

***

 

The brothers raced back to the music shop as fast as they could. Dean rushed to park, not paying any attention to the lines in the parking lot. They jumped out of the vehicle and ran to the front door.

It was now nine-thirty—the store should be closed. The open sign was out and half the lights inside the store were shut off. There was only one other car in the parking lot besides theirs, which was likely Leanne’s.

The two quickly nodded to each other as Dean headed around back and Sam stayed by the front door. The younger brother pulled his lock-pick out and made his way in quietly. The faint sound of _Don’t Fear the Reaper_ played through the speakers. _Guess they leave the music running twenty-four-seven_. he thought.

Noting no one was around, he headed toward the stockroom door, but stopped when he realized it was locked from the other side. From memory, he knew the backdoor could bypass that, so he hurried toward the front door. Before he could reach it, the door locked itself, trapping him inside. Frustrated, he slammed a fist against the door.

Dean had finally unlocked the back door. It was pitch black inside, but he still managed to find his way around. He quietly tiptoed up the stairs, putting his back against each wall he reached. The air in the hallway was ice cold and only got colder the further he went. Eventually, he heard sounds coming from a room nearby. The door was shut so he put an ear up against it to listen inside.

“Let’s go...to paradise together…” Leanne stated in a hushed tone.

Risa stood before her, neither facing the door. “Mom...this isn’t you…” she said as she backed up slowly. “You don’t have to do this…”

“We will be together again…” her mother smiled crookedly, her eyes twinkling in the moonlight. “Risa...my dear…”

The girl had realized by now her mom was being controlled by her dad. “No…” she stated simply.

Dean could hear enough of what was going on to realize this too. He needed to get in there—fast—before the situation got any worse. Frantically, he twisted the doorknob, but it wouldn’t open. “Risa!!” he yelled out as he slammed the door with his shoulder repeatedly, trying to break it down.

_Bang bang_

“You don’t love your father…?”

_Bang bang_

“You don’t want to be with us…?”

_Bang bang_

“No…!” Risa said again, this time more defiantly.

“So be it.”

Her father’s spirit became displeased, twisting her mother’s expression into one of extreme anger. Risa’s back finally hit the wall behind her.

Leanne revealed a large kitchen knife and approached her daughter. “We will...be together…” She took slow, unbalanced steps toward the girl, prepared to strike. A deranged smile now stretched across her face.

Risa turned her head in time to see Dean bust through the door, yelling her name as he scrambled inside. He quickly caught on to what had happened inside the room and ran at the older woman in an attempt to disarm her. She dodged so Dean, instead, stood in front of Risa to protect her.

“Oh, what have we here…?” the other woman spoke, curiosity in her voice. “Aren’t you Risa’s boyfriend? This is perfect! A family trip!”

“Yeah, well, I’m not going anywhere.” Dean said, sarcasm mixed with his anger. He spoke a big game, but he really had no idea what to do. He could kill the mom, but that would be wrong and wouldn’t fully solve the problem. There had to be something in this building that was holding the spirit there.

Risa came to a realization. They were looking for something that was important to her dad—yes—but what if it was also personal to someone like herself? “My necklace…” she spoke weakly, shaken from the confrontation, “Dad gave it...to me. ...Take it…”

That’s all Dean had to hear. Something personally handed down to another person was the most common item to hold a spirit on Earth—like Bobby’s flask or Kevin’s ring. Risa unclasped the necklace from her neck and handed it to the man before her. He held it up by its chain. With his other hand, he lit a lighter and held the flame under the treble-clef charm.

“No, wait!!” Leanne dropped the knife to the floor. “I don’t want to—” With that, the spirit left the woman’s body. She dropped to the ground, unconscious.

“Noooooooooo!!” the bent and twisted spirit of Travis burst into flames and vanished.

Dean dropped the chain and put his lighter away then turned his attention back to the girl behind him. “Risa…?” he said as he shook her shoulder lightly. “Are you ok…?” The girl, though still shaken, nodded. She was trying to hold herself together, but finally caved. Tears poured out of her eyes as she reached up and hugged Dean, burying her face in his chest.

Within seconds, loud clunky footsteps sounded from the stairway and reached the room. “Dean!?” Sam called out before reaching the door.

“It’s ok. We got it now.” Dean said, hugging the girl back. “Her necklace was the key.” Dean filled Sam in on what happened. They were now confident this case was closed.

Leanne finally awoke, vague memories of what happened remained. By the time she awoke, Sam had returned the knife to the kitchen and the two brothers had vanished into the night.

Risa explained to her mom how she managed to sleepwalk into her room. Leanne bought the lie, despite the time, and went back to her bedroom to go to sleep. The girl texted Dean back to let him know it was a success.

 

***

 

The following morning, Dean awoke before his brother at approximately five o’clock. Quietly, he got out of bed, got dressed, and snuck out the door.

 _Sorry Sammy_ … He thought as he revved the engine of his car and drove off. _I won’t be long...just a few hours_ …

Two hours later, Sam finally woke to the tune of _Boys are Back in Town_ blasting loudly through the speakers. He reached up without lifting his face from his pillow and waved his hand around to find the clock. After knocking a few empty bottles to the floor, he finally hit the snooze button.

Groggily, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Sam noticed his brother was missing from the other bed. He looked out through the blinds and noted the Impala was missing too. _He probably went to see Risa…_ he thought as he dialed Dean’s number. After a few tries with no response, he finally gave up.

After getting dressed and making some cheap motel coffee for himself, Sam sat at the side table with his laptop. He kept himself busy reading local news stories and interesting information online. Once in a while he redialed Dean’s number, but never got any response.

An hour or so later, the familiar sound of the Impala got Sam’s attention as it pulled into a parking spot out front. Sam went outside to greet his brother. “And what have you been up to!? I’ve been trying to call you for _hours_ …”

“I know, I _know_ …” Dean said defensively as he got out of the vehicle. With a grin, he presented his younger brother with some brown paper bags. “But I got us breakfast!”

The taller brother sighed, shaking his head with a light smile. They went back into the motel and ate their food. After some time, they packed up their belongings and checked out, ready to hit the road again.

“I have one last thing to do here…” Dean said, sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Oh, what’s that?” Sam questioned as he entered the passenger’s side of the vehicle.

“I’ll explain on the way.”

 

***

 

Dean pulled the Impala up to the Kander Music parking lot. He gave a thumbs up to Sam and the other brother nodded in reply. With that out of the way, he walked into the building. No customers were in sight nor Risa or her mom. The radio was quietly playing _Have You Ever Seen the Rain_.

He walked around to the stock room door and peered inside. Risa was sitting in a chair on the side quietly doing something with her phone while her mom was sitting at a computer doing work. The girl looked up and noticed him smiling and waving to her. He quickly ducked back out before her mom could notice him and listened with his back to the wall. It was time.

“Mom.” Risa put her phone to sleep and shoved it into her pocket. Her mom stopped what she was doing. The girl’s voice was no longer as quiet as usual and for once she spoke confidently. “Please hear me out.”

“I’m listening.” Leanne said, turning her full attention to her daughter. She knew what this would be about before it even started.

“I am going to pursue music. It’s my dream.”

“You know how difficult that is!”

“I know. I don’t care.”

“What if you don’t make it? What if you end up on the streets!? I won’t be there to save you!”

“This is what I want.”

Risa made eye contact with her mom the entire time. She didn’t break it for even a second. “You’re serious?” her mom finally said, surprised by this sudden change in demeanor.

“I am.”

Leanne’s expression changed to disappointment. Not in her daughter, but in the realization she could no longer hold the girl there to inherit the store. After a moment of silence, she finally let out a sigh. “So what will you do then?”

“I’m leaving. Right now. Like I should have years ago.”

“What!? You can’t leave! You don’t have anything!”

“Exactly. So I have nothing to lose!” Risa stood up. “I love you, mom. But you have to believe in me.”

The other woman’s stern expression changed to defeat. Her daughter was old enough to go anywhere she wanted. She physically wouldn’t be able to stop her. All she had to hold her there were words, and that was all gone now. She huffed but didn’t speak.

Unbeknownst to her mom, Risa had rehearsed this with Dean early in the early morning. She had already loaded what little personal belongings she had into a suitcase and a backpack and tossed it into the back seat of the Impala.

“Dean! I’m ready!” Risa called out. Hearing this, he stepped into the room, ready to take her away.

“So that’s what this is all about?” her mom spoke up. “You’re running off to be with your boyfriend!?”

Risa thought about this for a second. Should she bother correcting her? After a moment of silence, she decided to roll through it. “No.” she said simply. “He’s not the reason why. I made this decision on my own.”

“Like I said before...” Dean spoke up. “...She makes her own decisions now.” He started to walk out the door, looking back to make sure she was following. “Let’s go.”

Risa walked confidently out the door behind him and got into the back seat. Dean jumped into the driver’s seat and revved the engine up. As the car pulled out of the parking lot, The girl stared back at the store that had been her entire life until now.

“He’s right, you know.” Sam spoke up. “If you stayed, you would end up trapped there. It’s better to get out and live your life on your own terms.”

“What he said.” Dean spoke up. “Let’s get some music in here. We have a few hours to go before our destination.” With that, he turned the radio on. _Dream On_ by Aerosmith was playing as they went down the road.

 

***

 

They eventually reached their destination—a house in another town. “This is it?” Risa asked.

“Yep.” he said as he stopped the car. “You’ll be ok?”

“Yeah, I think so.” she said as she grabbed her backpack and looked the building over. The brothers got out to help get her belongings out of the car and say goodbye. “Dean.” she said as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a vinyl to hand to him. “This is for you.”

“Kansas!!” he exclaimed as he happily took the package. “The 1976 Leftoverture LP!?”

“Yep.”

“Awesome!!” he placed it into his pile of vinyl’s he had purchased previously on the back seat floor. Sam smiled at his brother’s reaction. If his brother was happy, he was happy too.

“And I didn’t forget about you.” Risa said to Sam. “I didn’t know what to give you. I wanted to get you something though, so here…” she said as she presented a small box of tapes to the younger brother. “They’re various musicians you might like.”

“You didn’t have to.” Sam stated with a smile, taking the box in hand and glancing through it. At least now they had more choice in what music they listened to on the road than the handful of mullet-rock legends tapes his older brother kept in the front seat. He opened the passenger door and placed the box on the floor.

Dean opened the trunk of the Impala and reached inside, pulling out a large case. Walking around, he handed it to Risa. Her blue eyes lit up. “R-Really!?”

“Yep. Got you a new one!” Dean said proudly.

Opening the casing revealed a shiny new navy blue Yamaha APX500III Acoustic-Electric guitar. Risa shut the case and laid it aside for a moment to reach up and give Dean a hug. “Thanks!” She approached Sam and also gave him a hug. “Thank you two for everything.”

“No problem.” Sam said as he propped up her suitcase on the sidewalk. When he was done, he got back into the passenger seat and waited for his brother.

“Well, this is goodbye.” said Dean. “So…” he raised his hand as if awaiting a high-five, smiling at the girl. She reached up and slapped his hand. “Yeah!” he responded, content that she finally reciprocated.

Risa picked up her new guitar case and grabbed the top handle of her suitcase to drag it on its wheels. She looked back one final time. “Bye!” As she approached the front door, she knocked lightly. A dark-haired woman answered and invited her inside with a smile. The woman waved to the brothers before going back inside.

Dean was pretty proud of himself. He saved a girl and her mom, and gave someone a chance at a brighter future. With a satisfied look on his face, he took his usual driver’s seat in the car and started the engine up.

The radio came on and Sam decided to try one of the new tapes he’d received as a gift. He picked one out randomly, unlabeled, and shoved it into the old machine. _Free Bird_ started playing.

“Heck yeah! Awesome song!” Dean exclaimed as he drove down the road.

“Hey, Dean…” Sam looked to his older brother questioningly. “How did you afford that guitar anyway? It’s a $500 guitar…”  
Dean smirked mischievously and turned the radio up, speeding down the road.


End file.
